|
afrol.com, 6 November - The UN Human Rights Committee has deplored that the practice of polygamy persisted in Gabon, which was incompatible with the principle of equality between men and women, and recommended the review of legislation to guarantee improved rights for women in the country. The Committee recommended, among other things, that Gabon review its legislation and its practices to guarantee that women had the same rights, including the right to property and inheritance. It insisted that concrete measures should be taken to strengthen the participation of women in the political, economic, and social sectors of the nation, and to ensure that no discrimination based on customary laws was practised against women concerning marriage, divorce and inheritance. It specially noted that polygamy should be definitively abolished. In its critics of the situation of women's rights in Gabon, the Committee singled out Article 252 of the civil code. This article provides for the obedience of a wife to her husband. The Committee claimed that the article was not compatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Gabon is a signatory. Gabonese law provides that couples must stipulate at the time of marriage whether they intend to adhere to a monogamous or a polygamous relationship. For monogynous married couples, a common property law provides for the equal distribution of assets after divorce. Wives who leave polygynous husbands suffer severe reductions in their property rights, a US agency reports. Gabon's government has limited to four the number of wives a man can have. In the past, a man could have up to 30 wives, the Gabonese delegation to the rights meeting said. Women dominate the health and education sectors but still face legal and cultural discrimination, particularly in rural areas. Some women, however, hold high-ranking positions in the military and the judiciary, the Gabonese delegation said. In addition to abolishing polygamy, the committee recommended strengthening the participation of women in Gabon's political, economic and social sectors, and eradicating discrimination based on customary laws concerning marriage, divorce and inheritance. Although women's issues were key on the agenda, the rights body also reiterated its concern about the practice of imprisonment for unpaid debt, discrimination against minorities and the exploitation of foreign children. It recommended abolishing the Court for State Security, even though it was no longer functioning; ending capital punishment; limiting pre-trial detention to no more than 48 hours; ensuring that detainees have access to lawyers; and eliminating exit visas for foreign workers. The Committee said it welcomed Gabon's evolution towards a multi-party democratic system following its constitutional review of 1994 and 1997, the fact that individuals could directly lodge complaints to the constitutional court, and that the police was no more part of the military but was now under the Ministry of the Interior.
|
